An Unusual Friendship
by EviIPaladin
Summary: Cardin makes a friend and suffers for it. Inspired by a Twitter RP thread between @CWinningchester and @meltthembitches. Out-of-character Cardin. BumbleBY in the background.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Heyo, Evii here! I'd like to apologize for this incredibly out of character Cardin in this piece; it was inspired by a conversation involving Angie's Yang (meltthembitches) and my Cardin (CWinningchester) after a BumbleBY following out. Special thanks to Hiro's Blake (misguidedstray) as well as Hana for helping me and Angie to flesh out some dumb ideas. Once again, apologies for the out-of-character of it all.  
**

* * *

Cardin coughed as he finished the last rep of his chin-ups before sitting down on the bench and grabbed his water bottle. He was a little frustrated today. Not because of the work out, which he had completed flawlessly, as to be expected. Nor was it because of his studies, which were going well enough. No, the cause was…

"Yo, Cardin!"

The Huntsman-in-training groaned as the voice of his imminent torment called out to him from across the gym. At first, he hadn't thought it would be that bad, making this friend. But she was beginning to wear him out.

"Hey Yang," he muttered, between gulps of water, as she sat down next to him. Her vibrant smile fooled him no more. He knew her game too well. "How's Blake?"

The smile dropped as Cardin allowed himself his own small victory. After all, as much as he detested the Faunus girl, she was the reason he and Yang had become friends. And for all his grandstanding, that's what the two were: friends.

"She's fine, musclebrains," Yang retorted, sticking out her tongue at her workout partner. She edged a bit closer to Cardin, raising a hand to her mouth as she began to whisper. "But we might want to tone down the cat puns; I think she's spying on my gym time."

Cardin chuckled, slamming down his water bottle before running a hand through his burnt-orange hair. Before he could open his mouth, his eyes went wide with panic. "Wait, did you hear that?!"

"Hear what?!" exclaimed Yang, scanning the area for her sneaky girlfriend.

"It sounded like a whip being snapped!" Cardin howled before he got knocked off the bench by a punch from Yang. "Oh come on, that was funny!"

Yang merely pouted and looked away from the boy who was picking himself up off the ground and dusting himself off. As he stretched out his arms, he flashed a charming smile at his blonde companion. "You look like you could blow off some steam. What's first on today's work out agenda?"

"Sparring," replied Yang with a smile as Cardin groaned. There was only one way that particular activity was going to end and he'd rather postpone it a little.

"Shouldn't we do stretches first?"

"If you're a sissy who's into sappy chick flicks, sure."

"Sparring it is," said Cardin, with a sigh of resignation.

* * *

As the two walked into the combat ring, the daily feeling of dread packed onto Cardin's chest like it always did. He wasn't weak, not by any stretch of the imagination. He had made it in to Beacon almost solely on his strength, although his family's name and money had contributed. In a fight of pure brute force, he could beat almost anyone he went up against. But not Yang Xiao Long.

The blonde girl leaped into action, attacking fiercely with her gauntlets, as Cardin ducked and dodged the first few blows. They were slow attacks, made to lull him into a sense of ease. He had quickly learned this lesson during their first few bouts. As the fourth punch missed, Yang saw an opening in the armoured boy's defense and struck.

But for once, he was prepared. Swinging his mace in front of him, he caught his partner's fist and knocked it away. Pushing the advantage, he leaped up to swing the mace down on her pretty little head when she side-stepped the blow. Attempting to keep the momentum, he altered the mace's course so that it would catch her shoulder. However, the blow lost all steam when a flying fist caught the knight just below his chest plate, driving the breath from his lungs.

He should've known better, as he looked into the smiling face of his opponent. This was all still a game to her, as she emasculated him time and time again. As he sunk to his knees, he wheezed audibly and groaned. A heavy slap on the back was all it took to send him face first into the mat. He cursed many things at this time but mostly himself. He'd have to learn one day…

* * *

"Hey you almost got me that time!"

"Less talking, more pressing."

Yang frowned as she returned to her weight lifting as Cardin spotted, still rubbing his chest to try and ease the pain. Despite her claims to the contrary, he knew Yang had let him get the one hit in. While it bothered him a little, he had to appreciate that she did at least give him a small bit of redemption. And, if he was being truly honest, he didn't mind being second best if it was to Yang.

While Cardin had to admit he found her attractive, and he didn't think he'd ever meet a person who could disagree, he saw her more like a sister, really. Sometimes older, sometimes younger. He saw a lot of himself in her; the desire to be the best, the drive and determination... The two shared some less than wholesome traits like their vanity, simplistic thinking, and love of puns. Maybe that was why he had acted like he did that day instead of as he had so many times before.

* * *

Cardin had just finished beating Sky into a pale tar from sparring when he decided to take a stroll through Beacon. He had already begun to lighten up with his bullying but he still was more than a little self-centered. That's partially why he hadn't noticed the sobbing Yang that crashed into him.

Blake, who had returned from a two week absence, was leaving the blonde again, despite her protests, Cardin quickly gathered from an upset and furious Yang. For all of his inexperience in helping people, somehow he had gotten through to her that night. Not without some pretty awkward missteps but in the end, what mattered was that he somehow cheered up Yang and got her to go back to Blake.

After that, the boisterous blonde and the brutish brunet became friends. It wasn't a fast process, for Yang took a while to warm up to Cardin, but after a month or so, the two began to work out together. He enjoyed that because while Russell and the rest of the team were his friends, outside of that he didn't have anyone else to really talk to. Not to mention that the rest of his squad were not exactly on par with him. So having someone who could push him was a nice change of pace.

* * *

"One hundred!" cheerfully proclaimed Yang, pushing the weight onto the latch.

"Nice try," chuckled Cardin, looking at the sweaty teen knowingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, don't think I didn't hear you skip ten or twenty of those reps."

"And how exactly would you know that?" asked Yang as she sat up to look her spotter in the eyes. "You were gazing off like some old man who had forgotten if he left the stove on."

"Old man?! My birthday is only two weeks before yours!" Cardin ground his teeth and the two students stared each other down.

"Age is more than just your birthday, genius," replied the blonde, wrapping a small towel around her neck, as she grabbed her own water bottle.

"Fair enough," relented the boy, a sneaky grin on his face. "It would explain why I'm so much more mature than you."

Yang blinked a few times before bursting into laughter. "As if! I'm not the one who spent most of first year being a bigot!"

"Wow, your girlfriend is even teaching you to use big words. She should be a teacher here. I mean, none of them can manage to get through your thick skull."

"Okay, that's enough sass from you, smartass." Yang pushed her work out partner onto the bench. "Let's see you get to one hundred. Assuming you can count that high."

"Oooooh it's on, blondie!" What Cardin had failed to notice was that Yang had snuck a few extra weights onto the bar. Once he got to fifty, he swore his arms would fall off while the boisterous bruiser mocked him for giving in so soon.

* * *

As the two left the gym, they were sticky and stinky, having pushed themselves to outdo each other and getting immensely sweaty as a reward. As the two embraced in a quick hug, Cardin caught a twinkle of a smile in Yang's soft lilac eyes. "Same time Thursday?" she asked in a surprisingly quiet voice. It shouldn't be a surprise, Cardin reminded himself. She was always like this after a workout. Yet each and every time, it took him off his guard. She was so loud and in charge when they worked out. But afterwards, the exhaustion brought out a shred of timidity in her voice.

"Of course," replied Cardin, a grin of his own on his face. "And next time, if you cheat again, you'll have to double up on your reps."

Yang merely rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever, you metal wall." She made a back handed wave towards him as she began to walk towards her dorm.

Before Cardin could process what he was about to do, the words were already escaping his mouth. "Say, wanna catch a movie tomorrow?"

Yang froze in his tracks and the armour wearing teen felt immediate regret for what he just asked. It really wasn't what it sounded like, so his mind spat out the first string of words that could make this clear. "You can bring Blake if you want!"

The blonde was not looking at him incredulously. "What are you going to tell me next?" she asked, approaching him, still confused by his offer. "You want me to tell Ruby that you hit on Weiss or something? Because it sounds more and more like you have some sort of weird death wish."

"That… That's not it, Yang. I just… I don't know… Working out together is fun, don't get me wrong, but I figured maybe we should," the boy gestured wildly, attempting to get his point across, "mix it up a bit or something."

"And a movie was the first thing to come to mind?" Yang crossed her arms as she gave Cardin a once-over. "Alright, what movie?"

"Well, I was thinking _Grimm 2: Back to the Revenge_."

"Oh come on, there's no way that could ever match up to the original."

Cardin rolled his eyes. "Great, you're one of _those_ people."

Yang fumed, stamping her foot on the ground as her intense purple eyes bore holes in Cardin's. "No, you don't understand! _Grimm_ was a masterpiece of an action movie! Chris Pearl Baggin was a director genius and this is just some cheap cash-in on his vision!"

"Look you wanna go see this movie or not? If you really don't, I'll go by myself."

Yang looked at him with a bored gaze. "Are you trying to do the puppy dog eyes?"

"No," replied Cardin, as he attempted to do the puppy dog eyes.

"Look, I'll go if you swear to never do that again."

"Deal."

* * *

Cardin stared at the dark ceiling that night, thoughts of going out the next day on his mind. _It's not a date_, he reminded himself, as if that would calm his nerves. He had taken girls out on dates. He could do that. But Yang wasn't his girlfriend and never would be. No, the blonde was completely enthralled with her Faunus partner, a girl with no love of Cardin in her soul. The more he thought about it, the harder it was to blame Blake for being like that. He had treated her kind so terribly. He was getting better about it but she just can't take any jokes.

He heard stirring in the bed next to his and saw Russell looking at him with concern. "You worried about your date with Yang, boss?"

Cardin turned his head back to the ceiling, letting the words stew. "It's no date, Russell. She's going out with Blake."

He could see his partner nod as he remembered. "Right, the cat Faunus girl. Y'know, I heard they have guy parts."

Cardin looked back at the excited Russell. "What? What has guy parts?"

"Girl Faunus. My dad told me that the females are just temptresses that then—"

Cardin cut him off with a sharp gesture, as he felt himself gag a little. "Yeah, I'm going to pretend you didn't mention any of this."

"Sorry, boss. I just thought—"

"You might want to stop," yawned the team leader, as he felt the fingers of sleep begin to close his eyes. "Seems that kind of thing is dangerous to you."

* * *

Cardin stood outside the movie theatre, tapping his foot as a great deal of other students kept pushing past him to get in. Checking his Scroll, he saw that it was only five minutes until showtime and there was no Yang in sight.

"Yo, Cardin!"

Apparently there was one within earshot though. As the bubbly blonde burst out of the crowd, she pulled her feline girlfriend along by the arm. Her amber eyes glared at Cardin but spoke not a word. They didn't have to; he felt very unwelcome in this situation.

"So you did bring Blake along, huh."

Yang smiled softly. "More like she insisted. I did tell her that you were okay with it, aren't you?"

"Yeah, of course," the boy nervously chuckled, swearing that those eyes weren't blinking.

"Well, I'm not in the mood for a dumb action flick that mostly likely has terribly inaccurate depictions of Faunus in it," Blake said, continuously scowling at her former tormenter. "I merely wanted to ensure that you were not up to any funny business with this idea, Cardin." Turning back to her girlfriend, she kissed her softly on the cheek. "I'll be in Pages, talking to Brook Wyrm; she said she would need some help organizing some things for her big sale coming up. When you are done, come meet me there, okay?"

As the Faunus left the two workout buddies alone, Yang serenely smiled at Cardin. "Isn't she the greatest?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "Come on, we need to hurry up and get our tickets."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "What, you didn't already get them?"

"No, of course not! I didn't know if you were bringing Blake to the movies or not! Hell, you might've brought your other teammates too; I don't know! I'm not spending an extra 20 Lien on a ticket we aren't going to use!" He flipped through his wallet, taking out the required payment and waving it in front of Yang's face. "Just because the Winchester family is famed and wealthy, doesn't mean I can around spending money all willy nilly."

"Right well, that's not important. Let's just go get our tickets already."

Cardin sighed and followed the skipping Yang into the theatre. He wondered why she seemed so happy today. Well, she was always happy but she seemed extra chipper today. Yet asking why seemed like a potentially loaded question so he just decided to bask in her glow.

As the two approached the ticket vendor, Cardin rested his arm on the desk and flashed the part-time worker a charming smile. "Well hello there, beautiful. Two tickets for _Grimm 2: Back to the Revenge_."

"You sure that's the movie you want to be taking your soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend to?" advised the redhead, her tone and expression marking her as a waste of time to Cardin, much to his annoyance.

"Oh, we aren't dating," smiled Yang. "I have higher standards than this."

Cardin groaned. What was it with women and picking on him as of late? Was it because they knew he didn't like to hit them? "In any case, yeah, we'd like tickets to _Grimm 2_."

The redhead rolled her eyes and printed out the tickets and handed them to the duo as Cardin forked over the Lien. "Theatre number eight, on your right."

"Thanks, gorgeous," winked Cardin as he gave one ticket to Yang.

"Never talk to me again," was the reply he got.

* * *

"You are taking this to your grave, Cardin. Understood?"

It was an hour after the movie started and the two stood outside the theatre. The blonde was glaring at her workout partner from behind bloodshot eyes.

"Un-Understood."

Cardin himself was not holding up all too well, a little bleary eyed himself but not to the extent that Yang was. He cursed that ticket vendor; she had done it on purpose. She had given them the tickets to the wrong movie. Yang had suggested leaving when they realized this, but Cardin was not leaving until he got his monies worth.

As the movie played, this quickly revealed itself as a very bad decision. The plot of the movie was about a Faunus boy who fell in love with a human girl but the two were pulled apart by family and society. A pretty straight forward chick flick… Until Cardin realized just how many parallels it drew to Blake and Yang's relationship. After the blonde had already managed to put that together and was screaming at the screen. Despite his hushed attempts to get her to quiet down, theatre security saw the two out, as Yang swore and screamed at the fictional characters on-screen.

Moments like this reminded Cardin that Yang, for all her bluster and actions, was not just another one of the guys. "There's no shame in crying. You're a girl, it happens."

The words were a mistake and he realized it the minute they left his mouth. Yang did too, hoisting him up by the collar of his Beacon uniform and slamming him into the side of building. "And just what is that supposed to mean, you moron?" she chocked from behind her remaining sobs. "Are you looking down on me because I'm a _girl_?!"

"That… That's not what I meant," Cardin said, struggling to pull himself free of his emotionally unstable friend. "You have friends… Friends that accept you for all your craziness and obnoxiousness… A bit of crying won't hurt at this point."

Yang simply held him aloft, as outside the alleyway people went about their day. And just past that, Blake would be working at Pages, likely worrying about her girlfriend being stuck in a theatre with Cardin. And past that, Ruby and Weiss and Team JNPR were back at Beacon, going about their own days but still looking forward to seeing her return. As much as she hated to admit it, Cardin was right and not for the first time. He had the worst way of phrasing his advice, however, and that's what always bothered Yang about accepting it.

Just when Cardin was beginning to turn blue in the face, Yang dropped him down. Landing on his ass, he reached up to accept the helping hand she offered. "Sorry about that, bro, but you kinda were asking for that."

"You and Blake need to take jokes better, that's all," Cardin said, brushing the dirt off his uniform and straightening the cuffs of his blazer. "A few cat puns and girl jokes shouldn't cause you two to blow your gaskets. A sense of humour is all I'm asking you two to get."

Yang punched him in the shoulder, knocking him back into the wall. "Try not to be such a jerk about it and we'll think about it." And yet, there was a hint of a smile twitching on her face.

Cardin smirked, leaving the alleyway with Yang in toe. "I guess it might be worth a shot."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey y'all! After having a great deal of discussion with friends who had helped me write up the first chapter of this, I realized we had enough ideas to make this a multi-chapter fic, so I figured why not? Once again, major shoutouts to Angie (meltthembitches on Twitter [She's the Yang] and weissrabbit on Tumblr; insanely talented artist) for being a major part of the establishment of the Yang and Cardin brOTP and to Hana (momoxtoshiro on and hanasaku-shijin on Tumblr; insanely talented writer) for helping to flesh out the ideas.**

* * *

"I swear on Dust, Yang…"

The blonde had not stopped laughing for the past two minutes, as Cardin continued to grow a deeper hue of crimson with each passing second. Luckily, he had managed to get her into an empty classroom before she had bust her gut laughing in the middle of the halls. Her shaking hands held the cause of this whole blasted situation; a now rather crumpled piece of paper.

"I'm not kidding, blondie!"

The laughing stopped as she struggled to catch her breath. Her face was nearly as flushed as Cardin's but for a very different reason, as she wheezed heavily. He took this opportunity to snatch the wrinkled paper from her hand before she could protest.

"Come on, musclebrains," Yang said, between gasps of breath. "You gonna explain that?"

Cardin scowled, moving towards the door. Peeking his head out, his indigo eyes surveyed the corridor, ensuring that the coast was clear. Seeing no one in the approximate vicinity, he closed the door and walked up to Yang.

"If you so much as breathe a word of this to _anyone_, I will be the one arranging your funeral. Capiche?"

"You and what army?" shot back Yang, winking dangerously at him.

Ever since his arrival at Beacon, it's seemed like Cardin's list of people he could bully into silence had grown precariously short. Not that he planned to strong arm people into silence over much, but this matter… He'd rather not have anyone know about it. Not even Russell and the rest of his teammates knew. Yet here he was; talking to Yang Xiao Long, of all people, about it.

"Fine. I like boy bands. There? You happy?"

There was a silence between the two that seemed to stretch infinitely across time. Cardin swore that he couldn't even hear the sound of breathing. It was a glorious silence. And, like anything glorious for him as of late, it was merely his imagination as Yang's incredibly loud laughter rang through the classroom once again.

* * *

"Okay, that was kind of mean of me," admitted Yang as the two sat alone in Team CRDL's room. It was smaller than Team RWBY's and a large TV screen and couch took up most of the space that wasn't reserved for beds. Cardin had convinced the rest of his team to go out because he needed to talk to Yang alone. He just hoped those idiots would keep their mouths shut so he wouldn't get caught in some rumour that would end with his dismembered body strewn across campus by a certain grumpy kitty cat.

"Kind of?" snarled Cardin, as he gunned Yang down in the first-person shooter they were playing. "If anyone had been within ear-shot…"

"Calm your tits," laughed Yang, before grunting in frustration as Cardin effortlessly offed her in the game again. "Are you spawn-camping?"

"The kiddie gloves are off, blondie."

Yang put the controller down to look at Cardin incredulously. "What's up with that?"

Cardin, seeing that Yang wasn't appearing in his sights yet, put his controller down too. "What's up with what?"

"You always call me 'blondie'. Like, that's not even a real insult."

"And?" Cardin snickered. "You'd rather me call you dunce or ditz or—"

Yang punched him in the shoulder. "Haha, smartass. No, I mean…" Her eyes widened as she was struck by sudden inspiration. "Okay so boy bands."

The Huntsman groaned. "What about them?"

"Who's your favourite Achieve Man?" The blonde bruiser had adjusted her position on the couch so she was facing Cardin face-to-face. "Like, if you had to date one, who would it be?

"None." Cardin saw the look of dissatisfaction on his friend's face. He stared back for a few seconds before sighing. "Ryan."

A hint of a smile grew on Yang's face as she nodded. "You don't say… How about GrimmSync?"

"Justin," came the reply with a shorter hesitation. "Why exactly are you asking me this?"

"Oh, just wanted someone to gush about boy bands with. But there seems to be a pattern here. So, for completion's sake, The Backstreet Huntsmen?"

"If I answer this, will you stop asking?" Yang nodded enthusiastically which only served to make her host groan. "Fine, Nick. We done now?"

"Well, it's just…" Yang's grin grew wider and Cardin's worries escalated. "You seem to have a type."

"Yeah, the type is women," he replied, growing more and more uncomfortable with this conversation. "I have a list of ex-girlfriends you can talk to, if you're still doubtful of that."

"I'm sure," laughed Yang, turning back and picking up her controller. "It's just that, all the guys you picked were tall, lanky, and blond. Kinda like someone we know."

Cardin froze. Was she referring to herself? The Huntsman did have some rather awkward feelings toward the girl who was essentially his closest friend but he knew she was head-over-heels for Blake. As much as he hated the Faunus, he learned quickly to stop hitting on her blonde girlfriend for his own good. But it was more than simply looks that attracted him to Yang; she was one of the few people who was willing to help him move forward. That and she was just like one of the guys. But hot.

"I… don't know what you mean."

"Sure thing, gay boy." Yang jumped excitedly as she picked off Cardin's gaming persona with a well-placed grenade. "Blam!"

"G-Gay boy?" It took a few moments for the dots to connect. "Wait, Jaune?"

"Well duh," said Yang, rolling her eyes. "Who else could I be talking about?"

"I don't know!" exclaimed Cardin, glaring at her. "Besides, you're way more gay than I am!"

"So you admit it!"

"What?! No!"

"Haha!" The sound of gunfire was quickly followed up by a triumphant cheer from Yang. "Get headshot, gay boy!"

It took every fibre in Cardin's body to restrain himself from launching himself at his aggressor. Instead, he settled for violently kicking her ass at a video game. Even a little ways down the hall, the cries of "Camper!" and "No fair!" could be heard crisply and clearly.

* * *

"No way."

"C'mon, musclebr—I mean Cardin!" Yang had snuck up on the orange haired youth while he had been working in one of the computer labs on campus. Luckily, everyone else in the room was listening to videos or music so they couldn't hear the blonde's begging.

"I guess I wasn't clear. No way… in _hell_."

"But you like them as much as I do!"

Cardin rolled his eyes, as he pushed himself back in his chair to look Yang in the eyes, her big lilac eyes wider than usual. He also saw them getting watery. "Are you trying to do the puppy dog eyes?"

"No," replied Yang, as she attempted to do the puppy dog eyes.

"Well, that's your answer," said Cardin, returning to his essay he owed Professor Port on Boarbatusk anatomy. Although it was difficult with Yang sitting on the desk next to his and kicking him idly.

"Cardin!" Yang drawled in protest as she took out the poster she had ripped from the hallway and draped it over the desktop's monitor. "They're coming to Vale for their new album tour! When will we have another chance like this?!"

"Next year," dryly responded Cardin, pushing the poster out of his way. "They drop a new album every year, Yang."

"Yeah but this one was really good!" Yang huffed. "Look, I'm going to the concert whether you are or not. I just thought that since you like them too, you'd want to go."

Cardin glared at the computer in front of him. The cursor blinked as if to taunt him. Being honest with himself, he really wanted to go. Besides, he really wasn't getting any more work done like this. The last three sentences were simply rearranged versions of themselves.

"Fine."

Yang pulled him to his feet and embraced him in a tight hug, driving the wind from his lungs. "I knew it!" she squealed as a few of the other students unplugged their earphones. Cardin did not like the suspicious looks they were sending his way.

Before he could push the blonde off of him, she had hopped into his seat and opened up an internet browser window. Cardin was just a little impressed at how fast Yang could type; he followed a strict 'search and destroy' typing style which meant essays took days longer than they had to. In the blink of an eye, she was already at the checkout for the ticket site. Spinning around in the chair, she looked a little too proud of herself. "100 Lien for front-row seats."

Cardin's jaw dropped. "Fr-Front row?!" He looked back at the poster she had handed him again. "Yang, the show is in a week. How the hell did you get front row seats?!"

A mischievous grin played across her face. "I have my ways, musclebrains. Let's just say I'm a heck of a good negotiator and leave it at that. Now pay up, big boy."

As he slowly pulled out his wallet and then the cash, he stared at her incredulously, his face rather pale. "Yang, I swear on Dust if you did something illegal for this…"

Pocketing the money in her coat pocket, she winked. "Relax, its fine. Just have some good contacts, that's all."

Cardin handed her back the poster, rolled up, and sat back down in the seat as she ran off. He returned to staring at the blinking cursor of his document, as Yang had graciously closed off the ticket site. But there was no way he could think about how many hearts a female Boarbatusk had now; his own was now pumping blood to the beat of his favourite song.

* * *

Cardin was nervous and stamping his right foot to try and shake it. He was standing at the airbus terminal and checking his watch. Yang wasn't early, like he was. He was sure she'd show up on time but what if she didn't? What if this was all some cruel joke that she was playing on him? Pretend to befriend him to learn his darkest secrets and spread them around school while robbing him in the process? He had looked up the price of front-row tickets online afterwards and they clocked in at a lot higher than Yang had taken from him. He couldn't trust her but it was too late. She had taken his money and left him here alone, while she informed the entirety of Beacon about his love for—

"Yo, Cardin!"

Yang's audible greeting was quickly followed by a heavy punch to the shoulder, as she handed Cardin his ticket. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, gay boy."

Cardin really wanted to try and smack some sense into her for continuously insulting his masculinity but he wasn't brain dead. So he settled for a seething glare, which succeeded in only making the blonde roll her eyes. Before he could give her a strongly worded rebuttal, the sound of an arriving airbus drowned out his thoughts.

"Just in time, eh?" laughed Yang, pulling him by the arm into the line to get on. While Cardin was wearing his usual wear, minus the armour, Yang was decked out in The Achieve Men gear, including two giant foam fingers. "Oh right, you can use this since you don't have concert stuff," she said as she passed one of the ridiculous overpriced souvenirs his way. He made it a point to ignore the curious stares from other passengers but none of them saw anything other than a boyfriend being dragged along by his girlfriend to see some shallow boy band.

A few more fans of The Achieve Men packed onto the bus, all looking a little younger than Yang, probably closer to her sister's age and all of them were girls. A handful of them even began gushing with Yang while Cardin merely sat back and looked out the window. Sure, he was excited to not only be seeing The Achieve Men in concert but also to have front row seats. However, there was still that lingering pride he clung to; that need to be feared and respected. He had no illusions; what little dignity he had would be washed away by this event if word got out. And all it took was one stray remark from Yang or someone else from Beacon to show up…

The sudden halt of the airbus drew Cardin from his inner thoughts as the doors opened. A smiling Yang bounded up and dragged him off by the arm, accompanied by the slew of other girls who were all eager to get going to the concert as well. He muttered a complaint under his breath, to maintain his guise as an unhappy boyfriend along for the ride, but felt a small smile tug on his lips. He had wanted to see The Achieve Men ever since he first heard of them and now he was going to. He shuddered with excitement as he did his utmost to not stumble as he continued to be dragged along.

* * *

As the duo sat down in the enormous theatre, they smiled to each other. Cardin was still more than a little nervous as to how Yang got these amazing tickets and prayed that he'd be going home tonight with his kneecaps intact. "They're always amazing live," Yang yelled in Cardin's ear, so she could be heard over the clamour of pre-teen girls screeching and waving large Bristol board banners.

But sight and sound weren't the only senses that were in overdrive at the concert. Cardin smelled way too much perfume for his tastes; preteens really shouldn't be stealing their mothers' perfumes. As he gagged, he picked up on the taste of the stale air, not helping his developing nausea. Yang just laughed at his reactions, which _did_ help with the upset stomach. Then her words clicked and he put one and one together. Cardin was no genius but he was pretty proud of his deductive skills.

"How many of them have you slept with?"

Yang's lilac eyes were as wide as saucers when she heard Cardin's insinuation. It was such a crude and insensitive thing to say but there was no judgment in the question. The orange-haired boy was genuinely curious. "None of them, you creep!" Yang responded, glaring at her now frightened friend.

"Then how? You know they're good live and you magically got your hands on front row tickets at a crazy reduced price a week from the show!"

"You don't accuse someone of sleeping around over that, you moron!"

"Well, then," Cardin crossed his arms and a smug smirk sneaked onto his face. "How did you manage it then?"

Yang was quiet before chuckling softly and starting to play with her hair. "I uhh… I may have dated one of them when I was younger…" Cardin snickered which caused her to look up and glare at him. "I WAS FIFTEEN, YOU SICKO!"

Yang was about to deck him in the face when the crowd erupted into cheers, as the boys made their way on stage. The six members of The Achieve Men were of varying heights and builds, some even initially seeming to not fit the standard mould for boy band members, like the bearded Jack. They were also unusual in that each had a signature outfit, rather than dressing to match. As they smiled charismatically and waved to the crowd, Yang and Cardin both returned to their seats and joined the raucous cheering.

"How are you doing tonight, my roses?" crooned Ray, the glasses wearing frontman. The sound of preteen screeches flew back into his face, answering his question rather clearly.

"It's wonderful to be here in Vale City tonight," spoke Gavin, with an accent that Cardin identified as British, despite not knowing what British meant.

"We're gonna give you one heckuva show!" roared Michael, the one with curly hair. He was often marked as the rebellious one of the group, due to his 'intensive' language and devil-may-care attitude. Even as a fan of the group and genre, Cardin rolled his eyes at how overly clichéd and characterized the whole thing was. And yet, he still loved it because despite all the ridiculousness, the music was catchy as all hell.

Cardin felt a jab of an elbow and he turned to see Yang, in the exact same boat as he was, fake gagging as the boys ran through their introductions. He couldn't help but laugh which made her crack a smile too. However, the sound of a blaring synth roared to life, causing them to redirect their attention to the on-coming performance of the hit song "My Craft".

* * *

As the performance wound to a close, Cardin and Yang were giggling like the little girls they were in attendance with. The songs had been performed perfectly and the entire experience had really hit home for Cardin, since this was his first time at a live concert. Yang, while enjoying the concert herself, could not get over how invested her testosterone fueled friend got about the whole event. He was like Ruby in a cookie factory, but with an understanding of restraint. If anything, he liked the concert more than the blonde, which made her wonder why.

Before she could delve into that bottomless subject, she received a tap on the shoulder from a rather large man, covered in a great deal of tattoos. "You Yang Xiao Long?"

The gruff voice made her chuckle a little while Cardin saw him and immediately grew worried. "Yup, I'm the one and only," laughed Yang, flexing a little and flashing a bright smile the bouncer's way. He merely rolled his eyes.

"The boys… Sorry, The Achieve Men were wonderin' if you wanted ta talk to them backstage." He looked suspiciously at the now more composed Cardin. "Bring yer boyfriend too, if you want."

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend," laughed Yang, grabbing Cardin by the arm. "But we should really get going…"

"C'mon, Yang!" pleaded her friend, grabbing her hands in his. "When will I ever get to meet these guys if not now?"

"Hopefully never," muttered the blonde. Seeing that Cardin wasn't going to relinquish his grip any time soon, all she could do was sigh. The bouncer did not seem to be in the mood for letting them walk out on his bosses either. "Lead the way, tats."

* * *

"Well, well, well… If it isn't my old flame! How are you doing, my Goldilocks?"

In response to Ray's greeting, the fiery blonde glared at him with lilac eyes, with a faint red tint detectable in them. While he chuckled nervously, Cardin was snickering as he made a mental note of 'Goldilocks'. The rest of the boy band was in attendance along with Cardin and Yang's sizable guide and what appeared to be his identical twin brother. They even had the same tattoos.

"Good concert, guys!" Cardin said, his inner fanboy getting the better of him. His reaction made the guys finally take their eyes off Yang to see her friend.

"You get over Ray with this trash?" snarked Geoff, admiring his own manicured fingernails behind his shades. The other members of the band chuckled in agreement. Suddenly, all of the starstruck joy in Cardin's eyes vanished, replaced by anger.

"First of all, he's not my boyfriend," Yang snarled, taking an aggressive step towards the now somewhat unnerved boy band. "Secondly, he's no trash. The only trash I ever wasted my time with was you creeps. I had hoped you would've matured but it seems like you losers are still acting like you're running the playground."

The bouncers tensed, looking to Ray for an order, who merely waved them off with a small smile. "Now, now, Yang dearest, no need for such rude remarks. We were merely joking around, is all." The glint in his eye vehemently disagreed. "But we should get to the reason why we're here… I need a date for a big premier event and you would do quite nicely." Ray's grin sent shivers down Cardin's spine as the pop singer produced a red rose from seemingly nowhere. He knew that smile too well; it was one of a spoiled and sinister man.

"I can do a lot of things nicely," replied Yang, the red tint glowing just beneath the purple again. "Not a single one of which I plan to do with you, Ray. So you can shove that rose right up your—"

The bouncers cleared their throats, as they moved in between the Beacon students and the pop stars. This situation was rapidly going from bad for worse. Cardin would have to be the thinker of the two for once, since Yang had some pretty bad blood with these creeps, especially Ray.

"Your bouncers are cute," he spoke up, drawing on a voice that was not yet forgotten to him. The bouncers might be tough guys, but The Achieve Men weren't. Cardin had bullied far scarier people to tears. "But can they go toe-to-toe with experienced Hunters?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, you dope?" asked Michael, watching Cardin carefully. But the teen saw it in the singer's eyes. Not just him but all of The Achieve Men had it in their eyes. The one emotion Cardin had mastered manipulating: fear.

"It means that Yang and I could clear you punks out in under five minutes without breaking a sweat, is all." Cardin's sneer was one that could strike terror into many a person and these spoiled boys were no exception.

"I-I thought you were a f-fan," laughed Ray nervously, toying with the red rose he still held in his hand.

"Not of you. Of your singing; something you would still be capable of doing in a wheelchair."

Even the bouncers were looking a bit worried, for Cardin's voice was calm and clear. It was a voice of truth and control. Yang picked up on the queue and hopped in herself, cocking Ember Celica as she shed the ridiculous foam hand. The sound of weaponry sealed it.

"Let's get going, Yang," said Cardin, turning his back on the pop stars. He was not a fool and was merely waiting for the signal.

"Get him!" There it was.

As the one bouncer leaped at Cardin, he crouched and put a hand over his left fist. Pushing and using his opponent's momentum against him, he drove his elbow into the gut of the bodyguard, halting him in his tracks. The scream of pain and gasp to start breathing brought a small smile to Cardin's face as his assailant fell to his knees.

The Achieve Men were all wide-eyed and scrambling to put distance between themselves and the teen who had dispatched their hired help in a second. Cardin just laughed while Yang crossed her arms menacingly. "Now, if I hear any of you creeping on my friend ever again… I'll have you singing out a straw. I'm sure that with the auto-tune, the difference will be barely noticeable."

There were some whimpers and vicious nods as Cardin and Yang left, both glad to be free of the scumbags who they had once seen as brilliant stars.

* * *

"I could've taken care of it myself, y'know."

Cardin nodded as the two were walking back to the airbus station, riding high on his display of masculinity. "Obviously you could've, Yang, but we only needed to scare them, not bury them six feet under. I saw that look in your eyes."

"Whatever… That was kinda cool though, I have to admit. Even a musclebrain like you can have their moments, it seems."

Cardin laughed at the half-hearted insult. "As can you, 'Goldilocks'."

The tough guy image he had portrayed only minutes ago was now in shambles as he groaned in pain from the punch Yang dropped on his shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: Just so y'all know, this'll be a five-part fic so there will be three more chapters. This'll be my main writing project outside of some Arkos I'm working on for Valentine's Day until it's done so hopefully I should get it done by March. Fingers crossed. Thanks for reading! Comments and criticisms are much appreciated!**


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